You are looking at a fragment of a Greek dish. Archaeologists found it in… in southern Germany. How come? Well, in the important settlements there, local leaders in the years 600 and 500 BC increasingly emulated southern examples. They had trade contacts with Greek colonies, such as what is currently Marseille. This is how a Greek dish ended up in southern Germany.

On the fragment we can just make out the muscled leg of a wrestler on the right, and the man with the stick is the wrestling match’s referee. He intervenes with his stick if one of the athletes makes a mistake.

The find comes from a grave near the important settlement of Heuneburg, one of the new centres of power in Central Europe. A piece of Chinese silk was even found here! These exotic objects highlight the deceased person’s high status.

 © Peter Frankenstein, Hendrik Zwietasch;
     Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart